Breaking the Cycle
by Airrah11
Summary: Cassia Grace has died a thousand times over for a mistake she made a thousand years ago. A mistake she made for love. Can she break this endless cycle before it finally breaks her heart and mind forever? Or is she doomed to feel pain for an eternity? OC/Kyrian then OC/Valerius.
1. A Childish Beginning

Title:

By: Erin Hughes

Prologue:

174 BC

Thrace

Cassia Grace sat on a blanket by the small river that flowed straight through her village. Her mother had sat her down while she went to search for fruits along with Cass's Godmother, Mona. Mona had, when she arrived, deposited her son, Kyrian, who was a year older then Cass, nest to Cass with a kind smile.

Six year old abruptly turned to the five-year old girl next to him and boldly introduced himself as little boys where often to do.

Cassia simply smiled widely before tackling the young boy to the ground before she told him her name.

"I'm Cassia!" she shouted in his ear before hopping up rather comicly and running off.

The boy stood himself up and looked off in the direction she had ran. What a strange girl, he had thought before running off in the same direction to make sure she didn't hurt herself as his little cousins often did.

-O-O-O-

After looking for an hour he gave up and went back to the blanket only to find little Cassia sitting down with freshly picked grapes in her hand, occasionally plucking one into her mouth. She had clearly been their for a while if the grape stains around her mouth where to be of any evidence.

Kyrian ran up to where the small girl sat and plomped down.

"You ran away. Why?"he said in a broken manner that only scorned little boys do.

"Because, silly, we where playing hide and seek! Your very bad at seeking, you know."she smiled at the frowning boy.

"Want a grape?" she held out her grapes in her small hand, to Kyrian.

His sour mood forgotten, Kyrian took a grape and smiled at Cass.

"Thank you, Cassia."

"It's Cass." she smiled.


	2. A Welcoming Visitation

Title: A Welcoming Visitation

By:Erin Hughes

Chapter1:

New Orleans, LA

Present

Grace Alexander leaned back in her office's swivel chair and let out a breath. She couldn't help but feel guilty for not visiting her cousin since meeting her husband, getting married, and having her first child. The last couple of times she had spoken to her cousin was over the phone, and Grace knew she could barely stay lucid when one was with her.

The Asylum her cousin had been staying in for most of her life had just called Grace with the news of her cousin's ability to have more than one visit a month now. Grace decided rather swiftly she would take Julian to meet her cousin for the first time.

And as they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Julian flashed his wife a smile as he walked into the office and sat down across from her.

"Everything well?"

Grace smiled back, " Yes, I just was wondering if you would come with me to visit my cousin tomorrow."

His brow furrowed. "You're cousin?"

Grace nodded at her confused husband. "She lives in a mental asylum. Her visitation was restricted until today to a visit a month on a set date but everything has been so busy lately... I haven't seen her in over a year and a half."

Julian leaned back further into his chair and saw that Grace was sincere.

"Okay. Do you want to bring Vanessa?"Grace smiled at her daughters name, but shook her head.

"She hasn't been allowed around children for years. I'm not sure how she would react if we brought Vanessa." At this, Julian nodded.

"Alright. Tomorrow then?"

"Yes. Do you think Kyrian and Amanda would mind taking Vanessa for the day?"

Julian nodded and Grace smiled.

"Good."

-O-O-O-

Grace wrung her hands out a bit as she and Julian followed her cousin's most recent doctor through the asylum's flourescent, hospital-like hallways.

"Your cousin's condition, Mrs. Alexander, is still volatile but incredibly less so then before. She still has frequent signs of Schizophrenia and at least minor tendencies to Bipohler Disorder, but she seems to have made an improvement. Though, unfortunatly, when she goes through one of her bouts of...hysteria, she seems to be worse then she was before. On the lighter side of things though, she seems to have a stonger grasp of reality and lucidity than before."

As the doctor told the news and condition of Grace's cousin, Julian found himself thinking about what she had told him about. Grace had skirted around the edges of her cousin's delusions the night before when he questioned her about it. She had clearly wanted to do anything but discuss the delusions at that moment and instead told him that it would be easier when her met her.

Julian didn't push Grace to tell him more even though he wanted to. He instead nodded and tried to distract her from thinking about the visit. And he had. But actually being here had made Grace anxious.

The doctor went on to explain that her patient had numerous problems such as Bipohler Disorder, Schizophrenia, Hallucinations, Insomnia, and sleep walking along with memory loss. Julian was listening but only partly. Most of his attention was focused on what he had been told.

Apparently, Grace's cousin had been locked away since she was thirteen and her condition only worsened as the years went by. She had, before being commited by Grace's parents, been led by her halucinations one night to leave her house and sit on the curb right before the house exploded into flames.

The police had ruled her parent's deaths accidental, and merely belived their daughter leaving the house to have been coincidental due to her...issues. She had told Grace different though. She claimed it felt like someone had, 'taken over her body.' Grace had refused to speak any more of her cousin till they arrived at the Asylum.

The doctor came to a stop at a metal door. He slid in his ID and typed in a code and the door popped open with a _whoosh._

The first glimpse of the room was a window directly across from the door, but a quick look-about revealed a large room with checkerboard lenolium and very little furniture. A bed, table and chairs with a dresser. That was it. The only color in the room was that of red, orange, and yellow tulips sitting in a vase on the dresser.

A gaunt looking woman sat looking out a second window unblinkingly. Her pale blond hairwas frizzed and fell in clumps over her face and eyes. You could see some of the bones in her arms and shoulders. Her cheeks where hallowed and her skin looked a shade away from death, but you could tell that she was once a beauty or at least on her way to becoming one.

Her lips where cracked, but moved even as she sat staring out a window. She appeared to be talking quietly under her breath in a foreign language that Julian was to far away to actually distinguish.

Even in her state of being she looked familiar to Julian, but not overly so; like he had witnissed her for only a brief spot in time. She bore no obvious relation to Grace, except for maybe the chin; but that was it.

"Cassia. You have visitors." The doctor spoke with kindness and familiarity; more like a parent to a child then a doctor to a patient.

-O-O-O-

Cassia looked up from where she was looking and blinked a number of times as she looked at her Grace and a tall man.

"Hello, Gracie." she welcomed with a nod towards Julian as she looked him over.

"You must be Julian." she carefully kept her features blank as she spoke; but paid close attention to his face and eyes. She only saw a look of shock that was swiftly hidden. She looked towards Grace and gave her a smile only giving a faint grimace when she felt her lips bleed again from their cracked state.

"I missed you." Grace slowly stood on weak legs as Grace walked towards her. Julian held out a hand to steady her but she waved him off with a bony hand but a kind smile.

"No, thank-you. I need to maintain what dignity I have. But thank-you."

Grace gently hugged her frail cousin and hid her grimace as she felt the small woman's bones shift as Cassia returned the hug. When they pulled apart; she held her hand out to Julian, which he took gently, she squeezed with a surprising amount of strength and gave him a happy smile. Cassia gently sat herself down on the chair again and gestured towards the other chairs opposite to herself.

Julian sat next to Grace and paused before questioning Cassia, "How do you know who I am?"

Cassia cocked her head to the side and spoke with sincere genuinity, "The voices told me."

Julian nodded, "What language where you speaking earlier?"

Cassia smiled, "Greek."

Julian raised a brow, "You know Greek? How did you learn it?"

She leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. "I've always known it," she paused and her brow furrowed, "though I don't know why or how."

Julian frowned, "Did your parents know the language?"As he finished speaking he saw Grace frown up at him.

Cassia looked pained but quickly hid the emotion, "Not that I can remember,no." she turned to Grace; signaling the end of the conversation. "How are you, Grace?"

Grace smiled at her cousin, "Great."

Cassia waved her on, "I didn't wait a year and a half for you to give me one-word answers."

Grace smiled at her cousin, "Got married to Julian and had a baby girl."

"Good. I'm happy for you. What's your baby girl's name?"

Grace smiled wider, "Vanessa."

Cassia smiled back and cocked her head ever so slightly to the side, "Do you have any pictures?"

Grace fumbled around in her bag for a moment before withdrawing a wallet with pictures of a smiling baby girl.

"Adorable!" Cassia said while flipping through the tiny pictures.

Julian caught a glimpse of pain as she flipped the pictures, that she had clearly tried to hide from Grace. While he thought this over, Cassia slid the pictures back across the table to Grace and asked questions about their child in a caring manner.

"The doctors say I'll be able to go out now and again if I keep making progress." Cassia stated hopefully.

"That's great," Grace paused and dug around again in her bag before withdrawing a book, "I brought you this, I hope that's okay. You read it a lot when we where younger." She slid the book across the table to Cassia.

She smiled, "Alice in Wonderland,"she looked up, "Thank you."

They talked for an hour more till the doctor came back in and told them visiting hours where coming to an end. They said their goodbyes and got ready to leave.

Julian turned back to see Cassia staring out the same window again only staring at a dusk-warmed sky with a faint hint at the moon.

"It was nice meeting you, Cassia."

"Julian?"

"Yes?"

"Just so you are aware, hurt my cousin and I'll kill you."

He nodded, "Anything else, Cassia?"

She smiled once again.

"It's Cass."


End file.
